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Au Revoir Simone @ Echoplex Thursday 07/08
Vegas Music Summit 2010
Mark your calendars and get your casino skills in order because this year’s Vegas Music Summit is slated for September 21-25 in Downtown Sin City. This year’s confab will continue its successful formula of 2-days and 2 nights of industry panels and select showcases of headliners with emerging talent as support. Last year’s breakout acts included St. Motel, Links, One Pin Short and Imagine Dragons, who are currently on top of the signing shortlist by majors and indies alike. Stay tuned for updates and announcements…
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Our post-Coachella-Monday hangover A&R Report?
Sick of Sarah @ The Roxy, Friday 4/23
As quickly as it came, the annual rock n’ roll oasis in the desert known as Coachella is over. So while you tend to that lingering sunburn and exercise the last of those acid-demons, let’s play catch-up on some new signings and stories we’ve been following… Los Angeles indie-label Dangerbird Records, who has been on a recent signing-spree stocking their coffers with a wide spectrum of artists, has put paper to Fitz & the Tantrums and we hear negotiations are in motion. FATT opened for The Specials last week at Club Nokia and will be joining Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings on tour in May… We hear Epic Records is finalizing a deal with Denver’s Joel Jorgenson. The singer is managed by Michael Goldberg and Isaac Hayes for 108 Management (we’ve also confirmed that 108 does not stand for their combined IQs)… Momentum continues to build for Las Vegas-act Imagine Dragons, who played to a sold-out room last Wednesday for the BMI/KROQ-presented show at The Viper Room. Having only played a handful of L.A. dates, it was impressive to see industry take a literal back seat to a sweaty crowd of fans singing along to the band’s late-night set. With a growing regional fan base and an impressive live show, labels seem to be closing in – we hear an East Coast major is looking to shut it down early, while publishers and booking agents have joined the scrimmage too… Radio continues to build for L.A. locals Dead Country with adds at Santa Barbara’s KJEE and KROX in Austin, as well as spikes at Live 105, KNRK in Portland and Denver’s modern rock KTCL; spins are also continuing in their hometown on KROQ. Could there be outside forces at work here? The band just finished a tour with The Bronx and will be supporting Far on a series of upcoming dates. Their self-titled EP is out now… And if you slept on the radio action on South Carolina’s Villanova, it looks like the band is now off the market. We hear an East Coast major is finalizing paperwork to close the act who are getting serious spins on influential modern rock station WARQ… Look for Steve Greenberg’s S-Curve Records to release new albums from Seinking Ships and The Belles on June 8th. Eric Matthews, formerly on Sub Pop, collaborated with Ohio musician Christopher Seink to record the new full-length Museum Quality Capture, while Lawrence, KS combo The Belles will release their sophomore album Times Flies When You’re Losing Your Mind… It certainly does… Finally, catch Minneapolis’ Sick of Sarah tomorrow night in L.A. for the early show at The Roxy. The band, who has been compared to Sleater-Kinney and The Breeders, is building a big following in the mid-west and is one of two artists featured during the month of April in Journeys stores nation-wide…
IN THE MIX: Jay Lewis, Purevolume, Ben Roethlisberger
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Imagine Dragons @ Viper Room Wednesday, April 14th
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Guitars, Dragons & Whales Oh My…
Mark Williams @ Bitter End (NYC) Friday, March 26th
For industry folks in the Big Apple, be sure to check out singer/songwriter Mark Williams perform at the Bitter End tomorrow (Friday, March 26) at 9pm. The 18-year old multi-instrumentalist is a stand-out virtuoso guitar player. He’s been playing professionally since he was 9 and played with B.B. King in Nashville when he was 11. New EP Starlit Stages is starting to get the attention of several East Coast label folks. Management is Ben Lazar (e-mail: blazar70@gmail.com)…
Standout acts from SXSW continue to heat up on the heels of the famed festival. Last night saw a sold-out crowd for Cymbals Eat Guitars at The Echo. Many were also there to catch openers Bear in Heaven and new Frenchkiss/Mom&Pop signees Freelance Whales… We hear several East Coast label folks have flights booked to catch Imagine Dragons in Utah on April 9th & 10th. The band also plays the Viper Room in L.A. on April 14th… Fitz & the Tantrums lived up to high expectations in Austin last week and as predicted it didn’t taken long for label offers to start coming in. Expect to see label and publisher reps out among the fossils for the band’s First Fridays performance next week (Friday, April 2) at the Los Angeles Natural History Museum. Stay tuned…
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SXSW ‘10 Day Two
John "Hollywood" and his Dirty Limo
After stopping by the Manatt/Red Ghost party for some sunshine, tacos and tunes, day two of SXSW saw a trip to South Congress (SoCo to the locals) with a little help from the Dirty Limo (pic above) to see Jason Poe. You can catch him at the Purevolume house on Saturday at 4:15pm, following April Smith and before Joe Purdy… From there we made our way to catch a stellar set from Audra Mae, where she played some songs from her upcoming full-length, before heading to the SESAC showcase to catch OPS, Ten Bears and Get Busy Committee… Amid the ping-pong and taco truck at the Dickies/Filter show, NY’s Cymbals Eat Guitars filled the tent with an epic wall of sound. A jaunt to the BMI showcase for a set from Imagine Dragons was followed by a pop-in for Austin’s Quiet Company and then on to Boston’s Bad Rabbits. Finally back to the Driskill bar for a nightcap of course. Stay tuned…
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Mumford & Sons @ Troubadour Tuesday Night
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